Heel-blank.



'lbk'iizesses 7 Q (Dan/M. c8 2 Patented Oct. 13, 1914.

W/KW M THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-L1Tn0.. WASHINSJON, D. c,

'onrrnn srarns ra'rnnr orrion.

FRANK E. nrenannson, or nowLnY, aim CHARLES LrrrLniirnLn, or HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS.

HEEL-BLANK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. March 20, 1914. Serial No. 826,113.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'we, FRANK E. RICHARD- SON and Ci-mnnns H. LrrrLnrIELn, both citi- Zens of the United States, and residing, respectively, at Rowley andl'laverhill', in the county of Essex and State ofhfilassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Heel- Blanks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in heel-blanks, and more particularly to that class of heel-blanks which are built up of separate lifts of leather or leatherbcard, as distinguished from those of wood.

1%. type of heel known as Louis heels, are well known in the trade and are usually formed with a rearwardly inclined breast, the base-portion of the breast being longi tudinally concaved and projecting forwardly onto the shank and tapering to an edge. Heel-blanks of this type have usually been made of wood, and attached from the inside of the shoe, and have also been made of leather and attached from the outside. VVhenthe leather heel-blanks are attached from the outside, it has been customary to attach them in two sections. One of the reasons for so doing is because, by using a long base-section and a small top section, the heel is much easier to finish on'the breast than one which could be attached in one section.

That is, to enable a heelto be attached in one section, it is necessary to drive the nails at a rearward inclination, or to incline them at least as much as the breast is inclined, or so as to be inclined, when the heel is finished. If the heel-blank isbuilt with the outer portion of the breast inclined rearwardly to ap proximately the extent to which it is to be inclined when finished and with the inner or base portion concaved, it cannot be attached by outside nailing, as the heel will tip forward, for the reason that the breast portion of the base will not resist the direct downward pressure at the front of thetop to a suflicient extent to prevent such an occurrence. To avoid this diificulty heeLbla'nks of this form have been attached in two sections, a method considerably more expensive than that of attaching in one section. If, on the other hand, the blank is built with the breast straight and approximately perpendicular to the top or tread face, while it may be attached by outside nailing in one section, the

difficulty and expense of removing the extra leather at the breast, to give the heel the desired shape is so great as to be almost prohibitlve.

The object of our invention is to provide,

a form of leather or leather board heel-blank which may be attached in a single section, by outside nailing, in an ordinary heel-nailing machine, which will not tip forward out of position during the nailing process and which may be readily finished, after attach ment, in the form of a Louis heel, or so that it has a rearwardly inclined breast run ning into a forwardly extending concave portion which terminates nearly in line with the shank.

lZVe accomplish this object by providing the heel-blank with a projecting portion at its base which is formed to support the blank in the desired position during the heeling operation, and the breast of which isadapted to be readily shaped,after the blank is attached, so as to give the same a finished appearance.

For a more complete understanding of our invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure l is a side elevation of the coin mercial heel-blank as prepared ready for attachment to the shoe. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central sectional viewthereof. Fig. 3 is a side elevation showingthe blank attached to the shoe. Fig. 4: is a similar view showing the attached heel as it appears when finished.

In the drawing a indicates a heel-blank built up of a series of leather or leather board lifts, one or more of said lifts being of wedge shape, so that thetread face of .the blank is held at an angle to its base, as is customary in high heels now generally employed, so that the heel will tread with the forepart of the shoe.

According to our invention we build the outer portion, or top section of the blank from a series of lifts of approximately the size of the finished heel, and arrange them so that their breast surface 6 inclines rearwardly, and so that only a comparatively small amount of material will have to be reportion comprising a plurality of base-lifts,

Patented Oct. 13, 1914.

preferably three in number, which project forwardly onto the shank, at least to the extent to which the base-lift projects when finished. That is, as shown, these base-lifts extend onto the shank to substantially the sam extent. The extent to which the succeeding lifts which make up the rest of the projecting portion 0, project is successively decreased, so that their edges form an inwardly inclined surface extending from the adjacent base-lift to the inner end of the breast portion 5, which are of gradually reduced length from the base lift to the inner end of the inclined breast portion, as shown.

The base of the heel-blank, when molded, is concaved as is customary, exce Ti} that in stead of having the portion adjacent the breast depressed, so that the front edge, at the middle, is on the level with or lower than the middle of the base, it is materially higher, a raised portion (Z being thus provided, so that, when the blank is pressed onto the shoe, this portion will be pressed firmly onto the shank of the shoe.

lVhen the nails are driven to attach a heelblank constructed as above described, the raised portion (Z will be pressed firmly onto the shank of the shoe, and, as this portion is well reinforced by the projecting lifts c, it will support the blank in the proper position for nailing and will obviate any tendency which the 1 eel-attaching operation might have to tip the heel forward or lift it up at the rear. After the blank is attached, the projecting portion 0 is conca ed transversely, as indicated in Fig. 4, so that the breast edge of the bottom lift is trimmed down to a sharp edge, and the straight portion of the breast of the heel and the shank portion of the shoe extends approximately tangentially to the opposite ends of the concaved portion.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the cost of attaching and finishing a heel-blank of this type is greatly reduced by employing a blank embodying our invention, as compared with a two-section blank or one having a perpendicular breast, for the reason that a heel constructed, as described, may be attached in one section instead of two,'thereby reducing the attaching expense one half. l urthermore, a substantial saving in stock is made as compared with heels, as previously constructed for this purpose. The amount of stock which it is necessary to remove by the breasting operation is greatly reduced, which is an item of special importance when a rotary cutter is employed for this purpose.

We claim l. A heel-blank, for a heel of the character described, composed of a series of lifts and comprising a top section and a basesection, said base section being composed of a plurality of base lifts formed to extend onto the shank portion of the shoe to the extent to which the finished breast portion of the base is to project and to bear firmly against the shank at the breast edge, and a plurality of lifts disposed intermediate said base lifts and said top-section and projecting to decreasing distances with relation to the breast edges of said base lifts and to increasing distances with relation to the breast edges of the adjacent top section lifts, substantially as described.

2. A heelblank, for a heel of the character described, composed of a series of lifts and comprising a top-section having a rearwardly inclined breast, and a base section composed of a plurality of base lifts formed to extend onto the shank portion of the shoe to the extent to which the finished breast portion at the base is to project, and to bear firmly against the shank at the breast edge, and a plurality of lifts disposed intermediate said base lifts and said top-section and projecting to decreasing distances with relation to the breast edges of said base lifts and forming a forwardly inclined breast portion, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK E. RICHARDSON. CHARLES H. LITTLEFIELD. lVitnesses:

L. H. HARRIMAN, J. F. BATCHELDER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Qommissioner of Iatents,

Washington, D. G. i 

